CFTC’s Most Likely Candidate Revealed – Here Are Their Views on Cryptocurrency

A federal judge has dismissed a high-profile lawsuit against Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), ruling that its NFTs do not meet the legal threshold to be considered securities. Key Takeaways: A US judge ruled that BAYC NFTs and ApeCoin do not qualify as securities under the Howey Test. The court found no common enterprise or profit expectation linking buyers to Yuga Labs. The decision sets a precedent supporting NFTs as digital collectibles rather than investment contracts. The decision marks a key moment in the ongoing debate over how U.S. securities laws apply to digital collectibles. Judge Rules BAYC NFTs and ApeCoin Don’t Meet Howey Test Criteria Judge Fernando M. Olguin ruled that the plaintiffs failed to show how BAYC NFTs, ApeCoin (APE), or other Yuga-linked digital assets satisfy the three-pronged Howey Test, used by the SEC to determine what constitutes an investment contract. The lawsuit, filed in 2022, alleged that Yuga Labs misled buyers into expecting profits from their NFT purchases. In his decision, Olguin said the NFTs were marketed as digital collectibles offering exclusive membership benefits, not as profit-seeking investments. “The fact that defendants promised that NFTs would confer future, as opposed to immediate, consumptive benefits does not alone transmute those benefits from consumptive to investment-like in nature,” he wrote. The court found that there was no “common enterprise” between buyers and Yuga Labs—an essential component under the Howey Test. The NFTs were tradable on public blockchains and lacked any ongoing financial arrangement between purchasers and the company. Legal experts noted the significance of the ruling. “Statements about NFT prices and trade volumes are a somewhat closer call, but even then, these statements by themselves fail to establish an expectation of profit,” Olguin added. Consensys attorney Bill Hughes pointed out that fees collected by Yuga were independent of NFT pricing, further weakening the plaintiffs’ case. The court also said that general statements about value or future plans did not equate to promises of profit. The ruling strengthens the argument that most NFTs, particularly those designed as digital collectibles with access features, do not fall under existing US securities regulations, setting precedent for other ongoing cases in the space. Nike and StockX Settle NFT Trademark Dispute Ahead of Trial As reported, Nike and StockX have settled their nearly three-year legal battle over sneaker-linked NFTs, bringing an abrupt end to a closely watched case that could have set new precedent for digital asset and intellectual property law. The agreement, filed last Friday in New York federal court, cancels a jury trial scheduled for October and dismisses all claims with prejudice. The lawsuit began in 2022 when Nike accused StockX of trademark infringement over its “Vault” NFTs, which used Nike-branded sneakers. The conflict intensified when Nike alleged that StockX had sold counterfeit shoes, claims partially upheld in March, when a judge ruled StockX had sold fake Nikes to both investigators and a customer. The settlement spares both parties from further reputational and legal risk. This development follows Nike’s broader retreat from digital collectibles. The company’s web3 arm, RTFKT, announced it would shut down operations by early 2025, citing a shift to legacy preservation. The closure has drawn investor backlash, with some alleging they were left holding worthless digital assets after the sudden pivot

The post Franklin Templeton CEO Dismisses 50bps Rate Cut Ahead FOMC appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson has weighed in on whether the Federal Reserve should make a 25 basis points (bps) Fed rate cut or 50 bps cut. This comes ahead of the Fed decision today at today’s FOMC meeting, with the market pricing in a 25 bps cut. Bitcoin and the broader crypto market are currently trading flat ahead of the rate cut decision. Franklin Templeton CEO Weighs In On Potential FOMC Decision In a CNBC interview, Jenny Johnson said that she expects the Fed to make a 25 bps cut today instead of a 50 bps cut. She acknowledged the jobs data, which suggested that the labor market is weakening. However, she noted that this data is backward-looking, indicating that it doesn’t show the current state of the economy. She alluded to the wage growth, which she remarked is an indication of a robust labor market. She added that retail sales are up and that consumers are still spending, despite inflation being sticky at 3%, which makes a case for why the FOMC should opt against a 50-basis-point Fed rate cut. In line with this, the Franklin Templeton CEO said that she would go with a 25 bps rate cut if she were Jerome Powell. She remarked that the Fed still has the October and December FOMC meetings to make further cuts if the incoming data warrants it. Johnson also asserted that the data show a robust economy. However, she noted that there can’t be an argument for no Fed rate cut since Powell already signaled at Jackson Hole that they were likely to lower interest rates at this meeting due to concerns over a weakening labor market. Notably, her comment comes as experts argue for both sides on why the Fed should make a 25 bps cut or…

Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high above $125,700 on Sunday morning, breaking past its previous record of $124,500 set in August.